7 Ways To Achieve Great Customer Service On Social Media

Just how exactly should you run your customer service on social media?

In many cases people believe they are more likely to get a quick response from an organisation if they make their complaint public.

This can fill company bosses with dread but this need not be the case. It can actually be the perfect opportunity for your organisation to turn the complaint around, win over the complainer AND anyone watching.

Here are 7 ways in which you can make your customer service superb on social media.

1) Be Prompt

72% of social media users expect a response to their message within 60 minutes. 38% of those that don’t get a response within an hour will complain again. 60% of those will make the complaint more public and take it onto other platforms – generally making your life a misery – if you still don’t respond in another hour. Being prompt in your responses can dramatically diffuse a situation that could otherwise get ugly.

2) Tone of Voice

How do you want to sound? What personality do you want your organisation to have? You could be formal, informal, funny, not funny, informative, or even just a bit of a cheeky monkey. Work out how you want to come across and then be consistent.

3) Right People, Right Knowledge

Who should you hire for your social media customer service? It’s easy to think you should get a 19 year old student who’s always on their phone because “they know all about that social media stuff”. However, it’s so much better to hire someone who actually understands the principles of customer service and then train them to use social media. You’ll thank us later.

4) Save Your Sorries

You don’t always have to apologise. In fact, it’s often in your interests to not say sorry, especially if you’re not actually in the wrong. If someone’s complaining but you’re not to blame, just dissolve the situation with a bit of empathy instead.

5) Don’t Hide

If you’re on social media then respond to people on social media. Do it publicly and win people over who happen to be watching. There will always be the odd case where you need to make the conversation private, but don’t automatically try and stay out of the public eye. Treat it as an opportunity to improve your brand!

6) Know Your Audience

You can’t know everyone in the world. But it’s easy to work out who’s talking to you on social media by looking at their profile before you respond. If the person has a large following, then once again it’s an amazing opportunity to boost your image regardless of the nature of the correspondence between you.

7) Don’t Take It Personally

Just remember, it’s your organisation that they’re complaining about, not you. The last thing you should do is take anything personally. So stay cool, be charming, diffuse the situation and win the day.

Status Social has trained customer service teams from well-known UK brands how to use social media effectively. Interested in talking to us about your social media customer service needs? Get in touch and we’ll demonstrate our great customer service!